HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: Ideas for the fitness buff, foodie, furry friend or techie in your life, as well as tips on homemade and charitable gifts
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/ghns_pages/x1199432827/Gift-Guide-Holiday-2011-magazine

GRANLUND CARTOON: A snowy Halloween --- Dave Granlund on Halloween and a snowstorm that hit the Northeast. GHNS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/cartoons/x780396981/Granlund-cartoon-A-snowy-Halloween

Lifestyles

HEALTH WATCH: Less daylight -- Weekly Health Watch with items on working out after daylight saving time, cutting back on red meat, new infant guidelines from the AAP and more.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x780396566/Health-Watch-Less-daylight

WAYNE L. WESTCOTT: Go with the rowing machine for overall pump -- Rowing is one of the best exercises for promoting both aerobic and overall physical fitness. Properly performed, rowing involves muscles of the legs, hips, back, torso and arms. The Patriot Ledger (Mass.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1138515936/Wayne-L-Westcott-Go-with-the-rowing-machine-for-overall-pump

PETER COSTA: Snowy forecasts, bald tires for Halloween -- It is not supposed to snow more than 1 inch on Halloween. That is the rule. It is forbidden. Creepy rain? Yes, that is permissible, but not plowable amounts of snow. I thought about my poor tires. Wicked Local Lincoln (Mass.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/family/x671081441/Peter-Costa-Snowy-forecasts-bald-tires-for-Halloween

KITCHEN CALL: Trick them with healthy treats -- Halloween recipes: Apple Pizza; Pumpkin Cookies; Sugared Grapes; Fried Bananas. Of course, the kiddies will overindulge. It’s up to the grownups to make sure that it’s only on that one night. One of the best methods is substitution. Linda Bassett/ North Shore Sunday (Mass.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/family/x1535090391/Kitchen-Call-Trick-them-with-healthy-treats

GHOST HUNTING: Kansas man takes up ghost hunting -- “I’ve always been into it,” Buchta said. “I’m a big fan of the paranormal shows.” On those shows, investigators go to an allegedly haunted location — a house, prison, hospital, business or wherever there’s been reports of a ghost — armed with video cameras and gadgets. They spend the night, and they look for evidence. Chad Frey/ Newton Kansan (Kan.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1535090608/Kansas-man-takes-up-ghost-hunting
* Sidebar idea: List all the allegedly haunted spots in your area and why they are considered haunted.

GARY BROWN: Peace of mind worth more than two bucks -- I think I owe a friend $1.87, and anxiety over the debt may cause the early demise of one or the other of us. No offense meant to him, but I’d like to try and make sure it’s not me. Canton (Ohio) Repository
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x213520061/Gary-Brown-Peace-of-mind-worth-more-than-two-bucks

JEFF VRABEL: Daddy shower - If you have ever been a parent and/or subjected to one on Facebook, you know that child-rearing is filled with people doing strange and terrible things, such as affixing leashes to their children in theme parks, motoring to a Walmart at 10:45 p.m. on a Tuesday to purchase Harry Potter costume components or posting six-minute videos of sled rides on the Internet, and trust me when I say I have only done two of those things so I CAN CLAIM MORAL SUPERIORITY HA HA HA oh my God why aren't more people liking this picture of my son's Harry Potter costume. By Jeff Vrabel, GHNS.

More in health and family at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle

BILL KNIGHT: Public health threatened by mortgage crisis -- Among participants who were delinquent on their mortgages, 22 percent developed elevated depressive symptoms over the two-year period, compared with only 3 percent of non-delinquent respondents. Pekin Daily Times (Ill.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1138515926/Bill-Knight-Public-health-threatened-by-mortgage-crisis
* Localization tip: Include foreclosure rates for your state or area and relevant quotes from local banks or mental health professionals.

KEVIN FRISCH: Trick or tweet -- @GovernorPerry: I'm skipping the next three debates, @MittRomney’s tax plan and #halloween — in other words, anything scary. Messenger Post (N.Y.)
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1138515761/Kevin-Frisch-Trick-or-tweet
* Facebook idea: Post this story to Facebook and ask readers to comment with their best fake Twitter comment.

More in columns and cartoons at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions

Business / auto

AUTO BITS: Car shopping? How to protect yourself from online fraud - Weekly auto rail, with online car-shopping tips, Car Q&A with Junior Damato and more. By GHNS.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x742508461/Auto-Bits-Car-shopping-How-to-protect-yourself-from-online-fraud
* Localization tip: You can do a Q&A with a local mechanic, or have a mechanic (or mechanics) provide you with a tip of the week.

GREG ZYLA: 'Highway Patrol' insider and new car previews - Greg, I read with interest your article in the Hornell Evening Tribune about the “Highway Patrol” show and the Buicks used by Broderick Crawford. I was about 10 years old when the program aired and remember it well. By Greg Zyla, GHNS.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1872807317/Greg-Zyla-Highway-Patrol-insider-and-new-car-previews
* This contains a letter from N.Y.

SILVIO CALABI: Equus, Hyundai’s chairman of the board sedan - Another luxury automobile? In this day and age? Given the gestation period of any new car model, Hyundai has been planning this since well before the fat lady sang, but it hardly matters — the Equus is a different sort of luxobarge, a cut-rate wonder that attacks the Europeans right where they are most vulnerable: price. Still think a top-end Benz, BMW or Audi costs about $65,000? Wrong. They’re now a hundred grand or so, out the showroom door; sixty-five thou is the price of this car — a Hyundai, no less. Yet about all it lacks is the cachet of a three-pointed star or a blue-and-white roundel. By Silvio Calabi, GHNS.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x464395944/Silvio-Calabi-Equus-Hyundai-s-chairman-of-the-board-sedan

SHOESTRING LIVING: Maintenance as a money saver - Getting something new is really exciting. It’s for sure more fun than performing upkeep on something you already own – that just feels like, well, work. Unless of course, you’re a fan of saving money, because then you’ll surely enjoy the maintenance that allows you to avoid replacing things and instead, keep some hard-earned money in the bank. By Molly Logan Anderson, GHNS.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x464388028/Shoestring-Living-Maintenance-as-a-money-saver

ON COMPUTERS: Turn kids’ computer into a fun learning device - A computer first is a learning device. If your kid uses it solely for entertainment (games, texting), the most worthwhile part of computing is going to waste. By Jim Hillibish, Canton, Ohio.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x213519796/On-Computers-Turn-kids-computer-into-a-fun-learning-device
* Do a breakout and ask readers if they know of any great educational websites or software.

More in tech and finance at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news

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